Jackson Run

March 6, 2013

This letter is in response to a comment on my previous letter about preparedness to flooding along Jackson Run Creek.

In my letter complimenting the people involved in the 12-12-12 concert helping Sandy victims cope with their losses, there was no mention of wanting to get free sandbags from any organization, including the Emergency Management Agency with whom the letter writer was at one time associated.

My inquiry was to find a place to purchase said sandbags quick, fast, and in a hurry.

In response to the claim that "some people living along the creek have taken action to protect their properties and some have not, please provide a list of these people and their course of action so that others can follow suit.

Over the years, admittedly I have made many futile attempts to remedy flood threats in the North Warren area, hitting on road block after another. George Yeagle, for instance, now deceased, with his sand and gravel operation offered to dredge the creek for free if he could have the gravel, but was turned down due to environmental damage. This didn't stop them removing the dam from Conewango Creek.

Let us remember the so-called "flood way" in North Warren did not become recognized until the early '80s; most of the businesses and homes on the lower Jackson Run creek were there in the 1950s. This was before the topography was beginning to change with the addition of new development, the main highway, and several course changes to the creek itself.

In summation I would like to quote the Emergency Management Agency's web page, "The Emergency Management Agency provides a program of prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation for emergencies of any type, weather, man-made or technological in nature." They go on to say, "It is the coordinating agency for all emergency response agencies within Warren County and its primary goal is to provide protection for all citizens and their property."

It seems to me some of the local bureaucracy and critical commenters to the perils of life along the Jackson Run creek should be a little less critical and educate themslves to our situation.